Max's hospital room had been busy all day. Lucas and Eleven sat by her side while Mike, Will, and Dustin excitedly shared what she'd missed the previous week. For one, their good friend Eddie Munson was somehow back from the dead and to make things even weirder, he was now a full blooded vampire. He'd even been able to sneak in to see her with the help of what Dustin called a 'master disguise' (read: sunglasses and a hoodie). Eddie couldn't exactly show his face in public on account of the fact that he was supposed to be dead , and before that the whole town thought he was a murderer . So making a public appearance wasn't exactly on his to-do list.

Eddie never really spoke to Max at school, but…he'd unfortunately known her brother. When he'd met the kids, they'd long since stopped hanging out with Max, but seeing Lucas like this was difficult to say the least. He and Eleven had been the closest to Max, and he could see just how much her condition affected them. While Lucas sat quietly by her side, Eleven tried peering into her mind every time she visited. She knew Max was in there, she just had to find her.

Steve and Jonathan were always on transport duty, so they often waited outside for the kids to return, but this time Steve had opted to come inside as well. He hadn't really been up to see Max since they brought her to the hospital that first day, but he felt like he needed to keep an eye on Eddie, since he was supposed to keep a low profile, but knowing the metalhead… well, Steve wasn't convinced Eddie had it in him to be discreet. He hadn't visited because, honestly, he'd always felt a pant guilt when he thought of her. Seeing her laying in that hospital bed, lifeless, frail… it was a reminder that he hadn't been fast enough to save her. That he hadn't been fast enough to save Eddie either.

Speaking of Munson… they hadn't really talked since the bite. Eddie, for one, was way too embarrassed to bring it up, but he felt like they'd passed some sort of invisible threshold. As if the whole experience had made them a bit closer. He wanted to talk about it, of course, but it made his stomach twist in all the wrong ways at the thought of facing Harrington and saying the words "we should probably talk…"

Unfortunately, according to Eddie, Steve must have felt the complete opposite. Harrington had avoided him like the plague, suddenly 'remembering' that he needed to be somewhere when Eddie walked in the room, 'accidentally' leaving something in his car, etc. just so they couldn't possibly be left alone together.

Eddie wasn't stupid, he knew something was up. He'd been through this exact situation before and it certainly wasn't fun reliving it. He could still remember how hurt he'd been when his last - and only - fling bolted on him. When he thought he'd met someone that really liked him and then… poof.

"Hey. Eddie." Dustin called, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I'm doing a snack run and I need another pair of arms."

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "How many snacks are you getting?"

"Don't question me, man, we're growing boys." Henderson stated. "We need all the calories we can get. Plus we'll need some for the ride home."

They were only 15 minutes away from the hospital, but Eddie didn't have it in him to argue. He just rolled his eyes and looked over at Steve. "Hey, you want anything?"

"Nope. I'm good." Steve said, refusing to take his eyes off the magazine he was reading. Frankly, he was staring at it so intently in an effort to not look up that Eddie wasn't convinced he was absorbing a thing. Eddie sighed in frustration, but his heart still stung. This was getting old.

They made their way to the snack machine so that they could purchase the obscene amount of chips and candy Henderson had in mind. Eddie leaned against the wall as Dustin inserted quarter after quarter. He remembered vaguely that he and Steve were relatively close. Maybe the kid had some insight?

"Hey," Munson began hesitantly, "you don't know if something's up with Harrington, do you?"

Dustin shrugged and input a series of numbers on the keypad. "Beats me. He just seems grumpy… but then again, he's always grumpy." Snacks began to dispense, filling up the bottom tray. "Why?"

"I don't know." Eddie mumbled, trying to act casual. "Uh, he just seemed quiet lately. I'm not, like, worried or anything. No. It's just… I don't know, it's kind of like he's avoiding me."

Henderson sneered. "What, you think you guys are gonna break up or something?"

"What?" Eddie stared at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

Dustin tried to hide a smirk as he punched in more numbers. He shrugged. "I don't know… You both were apparently seen getting pretty close in the pool the other night. Mike says you almost kissed."

The color drained from Munson's face almost immediately. "Wait, wait, what?" He stammered. "Who told you that?"

"Well," Henderson took a tally with his fingers, "Jonathan saw it happen and he told Will, who told Eleven, who told Mike… who told everyone."

"What?!" Eddie hissed, wide eyed. "Are you shitting me? Everyone?"

Maybe that's why Steve seemed distant. Maybe he'd heard that rumor - to be fair, Eddie wasn't exactly sure it was a rumor. He'd thought about that night in the pool over and over again. How Steve had looked, skin dewy from the water, eyes half lidded and sleepy. He could have sworn he'd seen Steve steal a look at his lips, but maybe he'd just imagined it. Then again, he was high, they both were. They weren't thinking straight.

Eddie shook his head and held up his hands in defense. "Okay, look, we didn't kiss and weren't going to kiss. There's nothing going on between me and Steve, got it? We're just friends. Just. Friends."

"Dude," Dustin laughed, eyebrow raised, "no one thinks anything is actually going on. It's a joke. We all know how Jonathan gets when he's high."

Eddie's face flushed with relief. He nodded a bit, clearing his throat. "Good… good, because nothing is going on. Okay? Nothing."

Dustin squinted at him, suddenly a little suspicious. "… Okaaayy… I'll just pretend you're not being super weird right now." He scooped up the snacks and dropped them into Eddie's arms, noticing how Munson was completely avoiding his stare, face bright red. Something was definitely going on.

Steve slowed the car to a halt as he pulled in front of Will and Eleven's house. Mike hopped out of the car with them and waved back at Steve as they ran inside, probably to play video games and ignore the sin out of Hopper. He gave a quick wave in return and watched them enter the cabin.

"They're all a little unit aren't they?" Eddie muttered, peeking over Steve to watch the kids shut the door behind them. "They're like pack animals, where one goes the other follows."

"Yeah." Steve smirked a bit and pulled out of the driveway, down the dirt road. "It's always been like that. You should have seen them when they were kids. I kind of just had to put up with it when me and Nance hung out."

Okay… this was promising. He was joking, actually responding to Eddie. Maybe it had all been in his head?

Eddie chuckled and sat back, looking out the window. For the next couple of minutes, they sat in silence, no radio to distract their thoughts. Eddie had been hoping Steve would play something, anything to take his mind off the entire situation, but instead he sat in a mess of his own brain, overthinking quite literally everything. After ten minutes of this, Eddie sighed, wringing his hands together, his rings softly scraping against each other.

"Steve. We should probably -"

"Are you hungry?" Steve interrupted, abruptly. "I mean - that was a stupid question. I'm starving, we should probably stop and get something on the way."

Eddie blinked at him. "Oh. Uh, okay." Steve pulled off the interstate, hoping to find a fast food place somewhere close by. Eddie tried again. "I was saying, we should -"

"There's gotta be a burger place around here somewhere, I don't really know the area that well, do you?" Steve gripped the steering wheel tight, his palms were getting a little clammy.

"No…" Eddie muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Steve -"

"You know what, let's listen to the radio." He reached over and turned it on. Jefferson Starship began blasting through the speakers, drowning Eddie out. Munson stared at Steve in shock, which quickly turned into frustration. Oh, for fucks, sake . He leaned back in the seat and folded his arms. Unbelievable. Few people could get under Eddie's skin like Harrington apparently could. He blew a curl from his face and stared out the window, anger bubbling in his chest. Why was he letting himself feel this way again? He thought he'd learned his lesson the last time. The guy is just not into you. Face the facts, Munson.

March 24, 1985

The earth was cold under his feet despite the hot summer air. It had rained the previous night, so the chill had stayed firmly trapped in the soil. Eddie sighed and stretched his arms as he walked to his uncle's trailer. He stopped to look back at his friend who followed close behind. Why they'd decided to walk around the woods barefoot was beyond them, but their high was steadily coming down, so they came back to smoke a bit more.

"Shhh," Eddie whispered. "My uncle's probably asleep already. He hates when I smoke late."

His companion raised an eyebrow and grinned - more like sneered - at him, white teeth sparkling in the night. "Aww, does the weed dealer not wanna get in trouble?" Eddie scoffed and reached out to palm his head, pushing him away, but the man swerved and grabbed his wrist. "Don't even think about it."

Eddie's gut twisted a little and he blushed, nodding. "Relax, man." He pulled his arm away and opened the door, being careful not to wake his uncle. He and this 'friend' were hardly close. They'd smoked together a few times, and Eddie sold him weed, but that was the extent of their relationship. That didn't stop Eddie from stealing glances. Another unrequited crush. He'd stare at the man's toned arms, or the long lashes that practically dripped from his eyes. He was a beautiful person, and he knew it. He was cocky as all hell.

They had the living room to themselves as they plopped down onto the couch and lit another joint. Eddie went to inhale, but the other man snatched it from him and took a hit. After a moment, he exhaled the smoke through his nose and held up the joint, not taking his eyes off Munson for a second. Eddie's breath hitched a little as the man reached over and placed the joint between Eddie's lips.

"Now you." He said. Eddie stared at him as he took the hit, their eyes locked. "Good." He muttered. The man leaned back on the couch and finally flicked his gaze away, taking another drag. Eddie finally let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He couldn't help but stare. The man had a loose, black tank that exposed his pecs just barely from the side with tight jeans that clung to his calves. A gold necklace hung around his neck, matching the lone earring that dangled and glinted in the light.

"You gonna pay me for the weed?" Eddie chuckled, looking at the joint, now almost completely finished. The man squinted at him before he blew smoke in his face.

He didn't look amused. "Not likely."

Eddie held up his hands with a nervous grin. "Just kidding, Hargrove."

Something shuffled behind him and he flinched, looking over his shoulder. Shit. Wayne was gonna rip him a new one -

His stomach twisted in horror, because Wayne Munson was not standing at the corner of the room.

Chrissy Cunningham was.

No. Not again.

He gasped and flew back against the couch, surprised when he found it empty. Eddie looked around wildly, hands shaking.

"Billy?" He called, but no one was there. Not even the warmth from where he'd been sitting was left. Just like every other night, Chrissy's arms began snapping in all directions. The sound of the bones splintering shot through Eddie's mind. He covered his ears and tried to squeeze his eyes shut, but this time, Chrissy spoke.

"Open your eyes, Eddie." She mumbled, her voice distant and echoing in on itself. It rattled in his head. The words came out crackling, like a fire was in her throat. She'd never spoken before. "Look at the little girl you killed."

Eddie looked up at her with wide, horrified eyes. He dropped his shaking hands. "I didn't… It wasn't me, it was -"

"You watched me die. You did nothing." Her head snapped to the side. "You're a coward."

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he shook his head, shutting his eyes. He couldn't take this. He wanted to wake up. Just wake up. Wake up . Wake up .

"Look at me!" She screamed. Eddie flinched in terror and opened his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks.

When he looked up, however, Chrissy was gone. As was the corner of the trailer as it began slowly disintegrating into an endless black void. He scrambled off the couch, backing away, grounding himself with the walls as they creeped and evaporated around him. He looked out the window only to find that the void surrounded him with nothingness as far as the eye could see. Horror gripped his mind as he snapped his attention back to the corner, where the hole was steadily growing bigger and bigger. A deep rumble shook him to his core, and out from the blackness of the infinite abyss, he saw the silvery whites of spine like teeth emerge, illuminated by the light of the trailer. The mouth that held them slowly opened, and let out a horrible, guttural snarl.

Eddie shot up and cried out, gripping the covers around him as he heaved haggard breaths in and out. He looked at his surroundings and touched his face, his arms. He was in Harrington's room. His whole body shook with abject terror as he peeled himself out of bed to, once again, let the nausea spiral out of control.

That dream… That one was worse. So much worse. Why were they getting worse?

Steve sat in his car on his lunch break. Elton John was playing through the headphones of his Walkman as he stared out the window. He only had 30 minutes, barely enough time to truly unwind, but he'd take it over working 30 more minutes in that boring, soul sucking video rental store.

A knock on the window disrupted his peace. He glanced up at Robin, who put her hands on her hips and waited for him to roll down the window. He sighed, removed his headset, and rolled it down.

"Are you going to sulk in the car your whole break?" She asked. "I thought we were getting Chickies together."

Eddie scrunched his nose at the thought of the greasy, over-salted chicken. He hated the place, but Robin loved it, so they often ate there During lunch when she had a hankering for it. Which was always.

"That was the plan, yes." He started to roll the windows up again, but Robin stuck her hand through, making him stop. "Dude! Don't do that, I could chop your arm off!"

She leaned in very seriously. "Chickies, Steve."

He sighed. "Look, Rob, I'm just not in the mood. I'm not eating anything today."

"What?!"

"I can't stomach it." He admitted.

Robin's expression turned worried. She hesitated. "Is this about the other day?"

He didn't look at her, just nodded. She chewed her lip a bit and then tapped the door to have him unlock it. When he did, she walked around to the other side, climbing in. They didn't speak right away, just sat quietly.

"What are you thinking right now?" She finally asked.

Steve leaned his head back, sighing. "That I'm scared… as dumb as that sounds."

"it's not dumb." She took his hand. "What are you scared about?"

"I don't know… everything?" He shrugged, a little frustrated with himself. "My dad, what people will think if they find out, having a secret at all… Eddie… I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Steve." Robin squeezed his hand and reached over to pause the Walkman for him. He'd been too distracted to stop it. "You're just not straight. You'd be shocked by how many people aren't. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I know, I know, I'm not saying that, I just…" Steve covered his face and groaned. "It's hard to unlearn. It's hard to pretend like every awful, homophobic thing my dad has said isn't constantly in my head when I think about myself. Like he's saying it all about me." He swallowed. "He is, now, I guess."

"Your dad is a piece of shit, Steve. Why do you care about what he thinks?"

"… I don't know." He admitted. "I guess part of me always wanted him to be proud of me. Even though he didn't deserve it." He chewed his lip, really trying his hardest not to cry again. Thinking of his dad always got to him, but he successfully pushed down the emotions and shook his head. "He never deserved it."

Robin put her head on his shoulder and held his arm. She'd seen the bruises Steve occasionally came to work with. She could always tell it came from home because of the way he'd avoid the question. If it wasn't a bruise, it was another insult hurled his way. She bit her tongue as much as she could when his dad was brought up, but Steve knew how much she despised him. "No, he doesn't."

"And then Eddie…" he continued, "I've been such a dick. I know he's caught on to how much I've been avoiding him, it's just… He scares me the most, because then it's real. I could just try to avoid it and pretend it's not there, but every time I'm around him I can't help it." He chuckled dryly. "I almost wish he'd just go ahead and reject me, so that I can move on with my life."

Robin chuckled a bit and looked up at him. "I can assure you that's not what you want."

He smiled, but it was blank, humorless. "I know."

"Well, I can tell you that avoiding him isn't the answer. Don't punish Eddie because of things going on up here." She tapped the side of his temple, gaining a small, real smile from him. "Promise me you'll talk to him?"

He nodded a bit. "Promise."

She smiled back at him and then looked at her watch, sighing when she saw the time. "We've got five minutes. We should go." Steve nodded, reluctantly turning off his car. Robin got out first, but ducked her head back in momentarily. "Also, you owe me Chickies since I had to skip lunch to help you with your bi panic."

"Hey!" He threw his hands up. "Not funny."

"Sorry, sorry, that was too soon." She winced. "… You still owe me Chickies."

Steve threw a wrapper at her and scoffed when she deflected it back to him. "Fine."